Today After school I had One Act rehearsal. I yelled at Caleb as I was passing through the halls to tell mom and dad to pick me up at 5:15, this being the time the schedule said we would be done.
Once in rehearsal we discussed the play etc. Then all of a sudden it seemed as if our discussion was coming to a close. Students shuffled their bags in preparation to depart.
I raised my hand and asked, " Are we done?"
"Yes, we have a basketball game."
"What?"
Apparently rehearsal had been cut short but somehow i was not informed of the change. Or maybe I was and it did not hit my radar as most american social hints do. I felt a tinge of panic. I had told Mom and Dad I would not be done till 5:15, the clock read 4:00. As my hand fumbled in my pocket I realized I had left my phone at home.
Thus began the awkward choreography of dancing dialing. Borrowing one phone to call my mother, praying the one you vaguely have in your mind is the correct one and wont connect you to Rwanda. After reaching my 10 year old sister who was flippant to my sense of urgency. Saying Mom and Dad were not there, that was the only useful information received from her. I then ran to the office to see if they had my Dad's number. After I dialing the number the secretary gave me, I heard my very own mocking voice. "This is Sophia Jenkins um sorry i missed ya call uhhh leave a message n i'll get back to ya! thanks". I had never been so annoyed with the sound of my own voice. After more dancing dialing the situation was as follows:
Mom and Dad were at the gym and according to my little sister were not answering the phone. If and when she ever got through to them she would tell them that I am in the front lobby waiting on them.
Time went on and I sat in the dimming lobby doing physics homework; which is depressing and frustration in itself with the other series of events.
I sat there contemplating what I would do if I was in my own habit of Kigali, Rwanda. First of all I would be surrounded by a school friends, staff, and co-workers who would have my Dad's phone number. If he was unavailable I would merely choose from the numerous hospitable offers of," Why dont you come hang out at my place". If I had decided to wait at the school it would not be in a cold carpeted lobby, but on a smooth hot courtyard, basking under the bright blue sky.
If I was in Kigali there would be plenty of options to choose from. The most obvious would be to walk down the hill and catch a taxi. Bargain to 3,000 franks, if i was lucky and climb in. In 15 minutes I would be home and eating rhubarb cobbler Toepista just baked.
Suddenly a bang on the door awoke me from my fantasy. It was 5:05 and dad had arrived for me.
What frustrated me the most this afternoon was not that I was picked up late, but that I was out of my element. I had no options, and that put me in an uncomfortable position.
As a wondering child I am faced with a lot of these situations; times of unknown and insecurity. Wishing that I was back home in control. It becomes so easy to play the wishing game.
I wish my peers in the US could see me in my environment. I am like an animal in a zoo. In rwanda I am me, my personality is not confined to a cage. In my natural habitat I'm at ease. But like a monkey in a zoo, I learn, I adapt. But not without causing a little trouble.
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